MY fellow scribe, the prolific Dr. Rene Bonsubre, could not have described the events that transpired a few days ago any better than in his eloquent piece, ?Bad weekend for Philippine Boxing? (www.philboxing.com).
First off, Marlon Tapales was stripped of his WBO bantamweight crown when he weighed in 2 lbs. over the limit for his rematch against Shohei Omori.
That meant being a former world champ already without throwing a single blow.
This is doubly painful for fighters as they all know they had to spill blood, guts and more to get that coveted championship belt.
Being a world champion is not only the fulfillment of a life-long dream, but also carries with it flesh and blood implications such as being in a better position to financially support your family and kids.
That look of anguish on Tapales? face when his team was informed that he was being stripped of the belt says it all.
Remember how he so valiantly fought and performed against Pongluang Sur Singyu in that title-clinching stoppage victory in July of last year?
Remember the accolades rained upon him for being the newest world champion and how we wished him a long, long reign?
That?s all in the rearview mirror now, relegated to the dustbin of pleasant memories.
VICTORY. The stipulated consequence in such a case is that the defending champion loses the belt but the challenger still has to beat him in order to become champion.
That means if Tapales won, the belt would be declared vacant, which is what subsequently transpired.
Tapales stopped Omori in the 11th round, but in truth, this was a paltry consolation prize, considering that he had already previously stopped Omori in their first encounter.
DEFEAT. A few hours later, halfway around the globe, in Leicester, UK, another Pinoy fighter had to swallow the bitter pill of defeat, this time inside the ring.
ALA fighter Arthur Villanueva, one of our brighter prospects for a world title was soundly defeated by Zolani Tete, a skilled, southpaw South African via a wide unanimous decision.
Somehow, Tapales? weight fiasco in Japan had impacted this bout. Since the WBO title had been declared vacant, this bout became an interim world title fight instead of an elimination bout for Tapales? crown.
And just like that, instead of a potential win-win situation wherein a Pinoy would be defending against a fellow Pinoy in a world championship bout, we ended up holding an empty bag.
DONNIE-NATION. Fret not too much my fellow boxing fans, as Donnie Nietes sees action this Saturday against Komgrich Nantapetch in Pinoy Pride 40 at the Cebu City Waterfront Hotel and Casino.
?Ahas? will be gunning for his third world title. Donnie always delivers. This will be a good weekend for Donnie-nation.
LAST ROUNDS. Are on Angelo Mahinay of BPI, Raymond Tero of Metrobank and my Latagaw brod, the most dapper city councilor of Cebu, Joel Garganera. Happy birthday, guys, and cheers!
